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Day 8: 22 Days of Vegan Meals

December 10, 2013

Welcome to Day 8 of the 22 Days Challenge!

If you are new to the Challenge, be sure to read up on everything we’re doing.
Every day, we’ll be sharing a meal plan along with recipes so it will be easy for you to challenge yourself to a plant-based lifestyle for 22 Days. You can also follow #22DaysVegan on Instagram to see what we and others are preparing every day. Snap a photo of your favorite vegan meal, tag it #22DaysVegan and you could win 1 of 3 delicious prizes. We’ll announce winners on December 26.

Afternoon snack

Apple, banana, melon, berries, or any other fresh fruit of choice

Dinner

Eggplant rollatini with cashew cheese, steamed greens or broccoli as desired (serves 4)
Ingredients
For rollatini:
2 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices
Olive oil
1 1/4 cups cashews, soaked for at least three hours (or overnight) and drained
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 small clove garlic, minced (optional)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/3-1/2 cup water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tsps dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Black pepper to taste
1/2 10 oz. package frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed thoroughly to remove all excess liquid (I press mine firmly through a sieve)
1 1/2 cups organic, low sodium marinara sauce
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Slice eggplants lengthwise into strips about 1/2” thick. Place eggplant slices onto baking sheets and sprinkle well with sea salt or kosher salt. Let sit for 30 minutes; this decreases bitterness and removes excess moisture. Pat the slices dry, and spray them or brush them lightly with olive oil.
2. Roast eggplant slices till browning (about 20 min), flipping halfway through.
3. While eggplant is roasting, make the cashew cheese. Place the cashews, sea salt, garlic, lemon, and 1/3 cup water in a food processor. Process till the mixture is very smooth and soft (you’re aiming for a texture similar to creamy ricotta cheese), stopping to scrape the bowl down a few times and adding a little extra water as necessary. Stop the motor, and add the nutritional yeast, basil, oregano, and black pepper. Process again to incorporate. Transfer the cashew cheese to a bowl and mix in the chopped spinach. Set the cheese mixture aside.
4. Remove the roasted eggplant from the oven and reduce heat to 325 F. Allow the slices to cool until they can be handled. Transfer them to a cutting board and add about 3 tbsp of the cheese mixture to the end of one side. Roll up from that side, and place seam down in a small casserole dish. Repeat with all remaining slices.
5. Smother the eggplant rolls with tomato sauce, and bake, uncovered, for about 20-25 minutes, or until hot. Serve with sides of choice.